A Perfect Moment Of Love
by Todd's Pet
Summary: An un-named wraith becomes addicted to that moment when a woman first falls in love with him... but he finds a way to preserve that perfect moment of bliss...


A Moment Of Perfect Love

Most humans think we have no emotions, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Our culture makes us reserved, cautious and careful, but when emotion comes it's all the more intense because of that. Yes, wraith love… we love with a relentless passion most humans can only dream of.

There are some human women who know about love, though; they have a depth of feeling more akin to what we wraith feel – a deep and overwhelming passion that consumes everything in its path and will not be stopped until it is quenched, satisfied, consummated. The object of their love becomes the sun around which they orbit, the reason for their being. It is glorious to be that sun, to bask in their adoration, to know that, for that one woman, you are the only thing in all creation that she truly sees, the only voice she hears, the only touch she yearns for, the shining beacon of light in the darkness of her soul.

And the most exquisite part is that moment when she understands this for the first time, that instant when she turns to look at you and you know; you can see it in her eyes. In that moment she stops seeing you as just another wraith to be waited upon and from that day on you are her god, to whom she would willingly sacrifice all that she is.

The trick is to time it right; to recognise that perfect moment and hold on to it. This one is almost there; I can feel it in my bones. I've planned a special trip with her to this planet… romantic, secluded… she's bound to fall. I can barely contain myself when I try to imagine how her eyes will look, shining like blue sapphires in the light of the two moons, when she suddenly comprehends that she loves me.

It has to be just right, no detail too small, nothing too much trouble. I spend time carefully packing a picnic of all her favourite dishes and stash it in the little rowing boat to stay cool. Then I add a thick fur blanket to keep her warm and scatter the deck of the boat with the sweetly scented petals of nearby Moonflowers. Anchoring the little craft securely beneath the shade of a thicket of trees I look up at the darkening twilight as the moons just begin to crest the snow-peaked mountains that serve as backdrop for the glittering dark depths of the lake. Perfect.

It's time now and I hurry through the forest to where I left my dart, flying back to the hive impatiently to collect her. She'll be finished her chores by now; chores that she had at first resented but now carries out with loving care and attention. My pulse quickens as I stride through the hive corridors, my senses heightened until I feel like the drawn string of a bow, quivering in anticipation of that moment just before the arrow takes flight.

-oOo-

I sweep her into my embrace the second she enters our rooms and she laughs; the soft and coy sound human females make when love is new and leaves them breathless and giddy with the excitement of it all. Of course the danger of falling in love with a wraith adds a little piquancy that makes it all the more delicious to watch as they try not to fall, knowing all the while that they want nothing more.

As predicted my announcement of a surprise trip to the planet makes her face light up with joy – a sight I could never tire of if I lived a million years. She chatters happily and the sound is like birdsong to my ears as I watch her getting ready to leave before we set off down the corridors to the dart bay, her arm entwined with mine and her skin flushed with excitement.

While I waited for her I had left my dart with the maintenance drones – I would allow nothing to spoil this night, especially not a mechanical failure. Their handler greets me as I approach, watching as I carefully help her up into the vehicle. He looks her up and down and rolls his eyes at me. _Another romantic tryst? You're becoming an addict,_ his mind's voice whispers in my head. I flash him a contemptuous look; some of my brothers just don't understand love. I pity them. They keep to themselves or rule their humans with fear, never knowing the sweetness of seeing a woman's eyes burn with desire for them.

Holding her tightly in my arms, I gun the engine, feeling her muscles tense with the thrill of being in a dart for the first time. As I sweep her out into the velvety blackness of space, her eyes widen in wonder at the endless stars and I can almost hear her heart beat out the rapid rhythm of a human female on the brink of falling in love.

We reach the little boat swiftly – I even carry her the last short distance over a patch of boggy, uneven ground, trying so hard to keep looking straight ahead, knowing that she's studying my face and finding it beautiful, sensing that she's revelling in the feel of being held securely in my arms, the soft touch of her fingers tentatively exploring the back of my neck, tangling in my hair.

The moons light our way as I row her out into the middle of the lake. The silence that surrounds us is heavy with anticipation, as if the planet itself is holding its breath in anticipation of that moment I know is near. But I also know she cannot be rushed and so I speak to her softly and feed her cherries and watch her deep blue eyes sparkle in the reflected light of the moons, like the dark, deep water that surrounds us. She leans in close to me, relaxed and warm and soft and I pull the fur blanket around us both, enclosing us more tightly in our own private world.

Hesitantly, knowing I must be careful with this part, I nuzzle her neck and plant small, soft kisses behind her ear. Involuntarily, she sighs and her body melts against mine. I hide my smile in her hair when I sense that my hesitance has opened the way to her heart, that I have timed it right; she is almost mine and she yields to my increasingly urgent kisses, offering no resistance when my hands slip under her tunic to caress her bare skin. My meticulous preparations are rewarded as every caress, every sigh, every kiss, brings her closer and closer to that preciously fleeting moment of perfect love. I watch her carefully; I must time it just right.

Pulling her closer to me, I slide her tunic off her shoulder and nip her skin with my teeth; gently, not wanting to mar her soft peachiness. Her sighs drift across the heavy air and hang above the lake like wisps of smoke and I answer with my own low growl when she slips her hands under the waist of my leather pants, their heat on my bare skin as she presses me hard against her own hips, pushing impatiently now against me, entwining her legs in mine.

"All the way?" I whisper into her hair. In answer, she lifts her eyes to look into mine and at last I see it – that flash as her soul catches fire – and I know the time has come. Questioning with my eyes, I gently place my feeding hand between her breasts and my elation knows no bounds when she clutches it to herself with her own hand and whispers softly, "Yes… I love you…"

-oOo-

At that moment when they tell me they love me my soul takes flight, a sensation I'm beginning to wonder if I really am addicted to. I never mean it that way, never intend to take more than I give, but somehow it always seems to happen. I don't see desiccated parchment skin stretched taut over a dried-out husk, but the downy peach of her soft and dewy complexion; the hair I stroke is not a frail wisp of snowy white, but her lush golden curls tumbling through my fingers.

Then another image comes briefly, unbidden, to my mind – the image of a woman who once blossomed with her love for me, a love that faded over the centuries I had kept her alive. I had given her the Gift repeatedly because, in my love for her, I could not bare to lose her. But I lost her anyway; lost her to the banality of mundane everyday living that had left her jaded and stolen her passion until it had wilted like a delicate flower; until, when she looked at me, her eyes no longer shone. Watching the passion in her eyes fade had torn my heart to pieces and I had sworn never to risk seeing that again. So now I watch and wait and look deep into their eyes, expert now at sensing that moment, that perfect moment when the heat of their desire for me is at its height; the precise hour when I must make my move and capture that look before it is swallowed by the contempt of familiarity.

With one last loving look, one last tender embrace, I gently let her slide into the inky, watery depths, watching her drift slowly down to the bottom of the lake. She won't be lonely down there. Over the centuries I have brought them all here, to this secluded place, for a night of romance they will never forget, a guarantee that their passion for me will never fade. Her sisters are waiting to greet her as she settles into the cold embrace of the lake floor; all of them with the light of true love in their eyes – that moment of perfect happiness, preserved for all eternity…


End file.
